Rebecca A. Owens

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

#HappyNewYear from me to you! Where has the year gone? One day I was taking photos for my Memorial Day post and the next thing I know it's #2019!

I am compelled to explain my absence from my blog and all my social media in the past seven months. For the ones who have read my first book, 'A Sister's Love', the main character Flo moves to New York City to take care of her niece and nephew. While there, she takes interest in the well-being of a teenage boy, Daniel. This past summer, I got the opportunity to experience opening my home and my heart to a teenager and an infant. Talk about a major life change! Although, my youngest son is 19 the mother instinct kicked right in gear whenever the little one woke in the middle of the night. I never grumbled when I woke to fetch a bottle, changed a diaper, nor rocked the baby and myself back to sleep at 2 am. My attitude has been I'm blessed to have had the opportunity God has given me. Too often we get caught up in being inconvenienced, we overlook the opportunity that God is preparing us for a blessing.

Although there were times, I chastised myself for not finding the time to write and/or blog, I now understand God had a bigger plan that included life lessons for me. The past couple of years, I have been so consumed with studying the craft of writing and trying to learn what potential literary agents would be interested in reading in my manuscripts, I lost focus on what was more important: my love for writing and telling my stories. So what if I don't properly introduce the hero and heroine on the first page? What's the big deal about showing instead of telling and so what if my characters don't have a concise goal-motivated-conflict? The way I write (my voice) is totally different from all other authors and rightly it should be. My focus for the upcoming year is to complete to manuscripts I've been working on and to continue to ask God for guidance in all that I do. He hasn't failed me yet.

In spite of my once routine life getting all shook up, I had the opportunity to speak with a lady from my hometown, Becky Barfield who sings in a gospel group, FOREVER CHANGED. Based out of Lexington, SC, the members of Forever Changed are from Lexington, SC; Woodruff, SC, and as far away as Pigeon Forge, TN.

Sharing God's love through music, Becky told me about visiting a church and after the singing, a man walked up and introduced himself, 'my name is Jimmy'. Becky described how the wife broke down in tears. Jimmy had dementia and he hadn't known his name in a very, long time.

On other instances, Becky recounted how visitors would introduce themselves after the singing and express how they felt close to their loved ones who had passed.

As I drove home from my church the last time Forever Changed visited, I reflected on the message I received from their song worship and I were reminded of this Bible verse:

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Until next time, I wish everyone a blessed Happy New Year and a wonderful week!

Monday, May 28, 2018

MEMORIAL DAY

Today we observe #Memorial#Day. For some, today is recognized as a #Federal holiday; a day off from work with pay. Others associate today as a time to prepare their pools for the summer, time to plan their summer vacation to the beach, time to get their boats and fishing gear ready and time to fire up the grills.

For many others, today will be a day for them to grieve, to hang on to the good memories they still have and mourn the loss of their loved ones who served in the US Military.

Umbrella in hand and my camera, I visited a local cemetery near my home where my ancestors are buried. I walked amongst the tombstones in the misting rain with mixed emotions of sadness, gratitude, and admiration.

As I walked along the graveyard searching for the tombstones with small flags saturated from the rain I wondered what the soldiers' lives were like growing up. Were they from a large farming family or were any of them orphaned? Did they get to finish high school? Did they leave a sweetheart behind? So many unanswered questions and a part of history we will not ever know.

Visiting the graves of the soldiers, I just didn't take a photo and rush on. I patiently took my time and lingered for a few moments. Some more than others because I had to clean off the nameplates on the ground. (Trees and mother nature hasn't been kind to some). I took time to read their name, read their birthdates, death dates and then I 'Thanked them' (by name) for their service, for their belief in our nation, for their courage, for their strength to leave their families behind to serve their country, for their integrity, for their never-ending bravery, and for their sacrifice to keep us free.

I wondered what it was like for these young men to go away from home to a new a strange environment. Did their parents approve? Or how many didn't have a father, just a mother, and siblings? It had to have been very difficult and I'm sure the color of their skin and their deep, old-Oxford-Dutch dialogue caused them to be center of attention when they first arrived for basic training. (If you're wondering - the soldiers are all Native American from the Lumbee (North Carolina Tribe.)

Today, I took time from my way overdue chores, from my manuscript to visit and pay my respects to my ancestors at the family cemetery on Memorial Day. This is something I used to do with my grandparents when I was a child. They didn't wait until Memorial Day or any other special holiday, they went when the notion struck. As I remember, it was at least once a month.

This last photo is of my maternal uncle's grave. I visited his grave last. I stood on the small brick retaining wall surrounding the family plot and thanked my Uncle for his service to our country.

As I drove home, I wondered how many others would visit the graves of our soldiers today?

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Do you have enough of faith to chase after your dream? That's a tough question to answer, especially today in a world that thrives and functions on competitiveness.

Growing up, I was interested in writing but didn't know how to pursue it. I remember asking my 12th grade English teacher about pursuing a writing career.

"You need to attend a college with a good English department," was her only response. I didn't have a clue on how to determine which colleges had good English departments or not. I spoke with my guidance counselor and expressed my desire to attend a college with a good English department because I wanted to be a writer. "Pick something else," she shook her head at me sitting in her office. "You'll starve to death." I remember how angry I became slamming the door behind me as I stormed out of her office.

A few years after high school life responsibilities took over and my dreams were put on the back burner.

For twenty years, my desire to write not once faded nor dwindled. It became stronger. While writing my first book, 'A Sister's Love', I accepted it would be my only book and my life as I knew it would return to normal: work, home, church on Sundays, repeat. But it didn't. I had no warning another book idea would develop from driving down highway US 1 near Sanford, NC after seeing a small log cabin nestled in the trees facing a small man-made lake. Or on a hot, muggy July morning watching a man walk down I-95 carrying a huge backpack with a small American flag displayed on it.

Every time my mind reverts to the negative excuses and reasons why I shouldn't write or I'm not a good writer I'm reminded why I love to write. It's not about gaining fame or money. I have a deep desire to share my stories with great hope they will someday inspire others to follow their dreams.

So, what about you? Do you have faith to pursue your dream? The first step is acknowledging your dream. Easy, right? The second step is to write a plan of action to achieve your dream. Even if baby steps, it's a walk on faith in the right direction towards your dream.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Just when I thought I had figured out which e-publishing platform I was going to use once I completed my manuscript the publishing industry has changed yet once again.

My research of e-publishers resulted in the five largest retailers: Amazon, Apple iBooks, Nook Press, Google Play and Kobo. At the time, Kindle by Amazon rankinghighest on my list of e-publishing requirements. After the newest announcement, its back to the drawing board for me.

#Walmart has partnered with Kobo to sell e-readers, e-books and audio books that will be available at its 4,000 stores later this year. According to #Publishers Weekly, Kobo marketplace 'holds nearly six million titles from thousands of publishers and hundreds of thousands of authors.'

The thought of my book ever getting read according to Kobo's title list is very daunting. Walmart has changed and dominated the retail industry for the past several years. With e-commerce slowly on the rise, the million dollar question is who will attempt to conquer it now? Will it be Wal-mart who teamed up with #Google and now Kobo or will it be Amazon?

I'm wondering if this new partnership between Wal-mart, Google Play and now Kobo are going to tip the scales in not only e-publishing options but most importantly if it will affect the prices of author's books? Most e-books range from $.99 to $3.99 per download. That's considerably a fair price to download a book in the comfort of your home to enjoy on a cold, wintry day. The dishearten part; I receive newsletters on a regular basis from many authors who are giving away their books for free just to gain readership. I'm wondering if that concept is working?

In the upcoming months as after I finish writing my manuscript and get it edited, I have a sneaking feeling my decision to e-publish will be between Kobo and Kindle Direct Publishing.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Happy New Year everone! For us here in #North#Carolina, the New Year came in with a #bang. In all my years I have not ever known it to be this cold for this long. It's been three weeks and counting the weather tempatures have not been above 36 degrees in the day, not counting the windfactor. At night it's been in the teens. For North Carolina, that's #cold, cold, cold.As I sit in my livingroom bundled up and type this it's snowing. Yes folks, we are getting #snow. Everytime we get snow in my small town, the hardware stores, gas stations and grocery stores are swarmed. Milk, bread, eggs and always on the top of the list. Speaking of list, did you make a New Year's resolution or any goals for the upcoming year? I did. In fact, I have 19 so far. That is alot, but the last quarter of 2016 and 2017 has been an eye opener for me. You see, I had been so focused on writing, creating and builing my brand, building a platform, developing my social media that I worked myself up into a frenzy and forgot about why I started writing in the begining. I started writing becasue I have stories I want to tell the world. Stories that my Grandmother told me, stories that my parents told me about them growing up and most importantly I want to inspire others to chase thier dreams. As an author I strive to give my readers suspensful love story and a glimpse of hope in thier own life.

Monday, October 23, 2017

It's always nice to go away on vacation isn't it? Travel to new places, see exciting and new things. Sometimes getting there can be overwhelming. This past week I traveled to #Baltimore for #Women #of #Impact Gala event. I had everything planned out. Except for one thing. Road construction as soon as I entered Emporia, Virginia. I missed my exit to bypass D.C. and spent two hours circling D.C. before I was able to get in the correct lane to exit onto the road to Baltimore. On the positive side? Sitting at a standstill I was able to see the Washington monument from my car! It's not everyday you get to drive by something so spectacular. Seeing that was well worth it. Here are a few superstitions I grew up about traveling. ~ If the bottom of your feet itch you will walk on strange land. ~ Don't drink the water from a place you have never visited before, it will make you sick. Some other superstitions I grew up with: ~ Right hand itch, you will shake a strangers hand. ~ Left hand itch, you will get some money.~Right eye twitch, you will receive good news. ~ Left eye twitch, you will get upset/angry.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

I have often wondered how and were #superstitions originated. Were they developed from stories told around campfires from early settlers as entertainment? Were they a mix of superstitions brought over from the Ol' World mixed in with the new in the New World? We may never know. Superstitions about #weather has always fascinated me. I was eager to see it was true or if something would happen. ~ If #lightening strikes twice in the same place gold is buried there. Sometimes I think this is true on the property were I live. Next to my house we have tried to plant countless fruit trees and even dogwood trees. No sooner than the trees got to be the size of my thumb, lightening would strike and kill them. Last summer I was complaining to my dad how lightening had struck several nights earlier and killed my plum trees. My dad replied, 'gal don't you remember if lightening strikes twice in the same place gold is buried there.' I've have not planted any more trees in that area and lightening hasn't struck nearby since. ~ If there is lightening during the winter it will snow in 7-10 days. I have experienced this several times living in southern North Carolina. ~ Red Skies in the morning; sailors take warning - meaning it will rain or storm by afternoon or evening. ~ Red skies at night; sailors delight - meaning beautiful weather ahead. ~ If the sun is shining while it's raining - the devil is beating his wife~ If it rains at a funereal the person who past is going to heaven. ~ In the fall of the year if you see a woolly worn (fuzzy worm) and his coat is more black than a brown/rust color - it will have a hard winter~ If squirrels are raiding the pecan trees before the fruit has had a change to open from the hull and fall to the ground - it will be a hard winter. One year we had squirrels to eaten a hole in a 55 gallon garbage can we kept chicken feed in. The entire winter we had a combination of icy rain, snow flurries, sleet and finally a combined ice and snow storm.